VMware vCenter External to Embedded Convergence Tool
Version 6.7.0
2019


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Contents:
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I.   Overview
II.  Brief Description of Options
III. Pre-requisites
IV.  JSON Template Files
V.   Help


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I. Overview
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This utility provides a command line interface for the following:
1. Converge an existing vCenter Server with external PSC to embedded vCenter
   server.

2. Decommission an external PSC when no vCenter server is attached to it.

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II. Brief Description of Options
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1. The command line utility is located in the vcsa-converge-cli directory.  Paths
   in this document are relative to this directory.  The executables are in the
   following locations:

     Linux, 64-bit:  lin64/vcsa-util
     Mac OS X:       mac/vcsa-util
     Windows:        win32/vcsa-util.exe

   The win32 executable runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows installations.

2. High level options include:
   -h, --help:                   Show help
   --version:                    Show the version

3. To do more than view the help or version, issue a sub-command on the command
   line.  Sub-commands include:
     converge:     Converge a vCenter server with external PSC.
     decommission: Decommission an unused PSC.

4. To converge or decommission an external PSC, include a sub-command, desired options,
   and the path to your edited JSON template file that contains detailed
   settings. (See the next section for a description of the JSON file).


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II.a. Sample Converge Commands
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1. To view the converge help:
     lin64/vcsa-util converge --help

2. To view the converge JSON template help:
     lin64/vcsa-util converge --template-help

3. To perform a basic template verification without converge:
     lin64/vcsa-util converge --verify-template-only <JSON file path>


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II.b. Sample Decommission Commands
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1. To view the decommission help:
     lin64/vcsa-util decommission --help

2. To view the decommission JSON template help:
     lin64/vcsa-util decommission --template-help

3. To perform a basic template verification without decommission:
     lin64/vcsa-util decommission --verify-template-only <JSON file path>


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III. Pre-requisites
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1. Pre-requisite for running converge on Windows:

   The Visual C++ Redistributable version 14.0 or newer needs to be installed
   to run this utility on versions of Windows older than Windows 10. If Windows
   displays an error message similar to this message:

   "The program can't start because api-ms-win-crt-stdio-l1-1-0.dll is missing
   from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

   or "The Program can’t start because MSVCR110.dll is missing from your
   computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem."

   or if vcsa-util.exe simply will not run, you can run the diagnostic
   batch file vcsa/ovftool/win32/check_windows_vc_redist.bat to find
   out if the required Visual C++ Redistributable is installed in your Windows
   system.

   Note that only 32-bit (x86) Visual C++ Redistributable package is required
   for this utility, for both 32-bit (x86) Windows and 64-bit (x64) Windows.

   It is recommended that you download and install the latest Visual C++
   Redistributable packages directly from Microsoft. If an Internet connection
   is not available, you can locate the installer for the 32-bit (x86) package
   from the vcsa/ovftool/win32/vcredist directory.


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IV. JSON Template Files
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1. Most of the parameters related to converge and decommission are conveyed
   to the installer via a JSON file.  Sample JSON template files are
   included with this release.  These sample templates contain only the most
   frequently used options; a full list of the template
   options, including description,are viewed by running a sub-command with
   the --template-help option.  For example:

     lin64/vcsa-util converge --template-help

2. Sample JSON template files are located in the templates directory. They are
   organized into converge and decommission subdirectories.

     templates/
         converge/
            converge.json: Use this template to converge a VCSA appliance

         decommission/
            decommission_psc.json:    Use this template to decommission an unused PSC

3. JSON configuration files must be saved in UTF-8 format.

4. To ensure the correct syntax of your JSON configuration file, use a JSON
   editor.

5. If a password property in the JSON file is not present, or if the password
   content is an empty string, the installer prompts the user to enter the
   password on the command line.


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V. Help
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https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere.html